


the important thing (is to never look at your feet)

by eternalmagic



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M, Post-Canon, im not tagging haru and makoto bc they dont really talk but they're here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 19:16:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14315367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalmagic/pseuds/eternalmagic
Summary: Akira's back for his first summer since he moved back to his hometown, and the first afternoon has ended up with a bit of a homecoming party going on. Ryuji just wishes that he looked less like a fool right now.





	the important thing (is to never look at your feet)

**Author's Note:**

> this is my second p5 fic but i still feel like i have no good grasp on how to write any of these kids. :/ damn.
> 
> anyway, i love ryukita and figured i would try to take a stab at things with this? it took a bit to finally get into the grove but im pleased with this. sorry if it's ooc for anybody, i did my best ;;
> 
> title paraphrased from sting's "the night the pugilist learned how to dance", which is a song that makes me think of ryuji without fail.

“H-Hey!”

But Ann isn’t listening as she pulls Ryuji to his feet, her smile bright as always. “Oh, _please_ , Ryuji. You can’t be as bad as you say you are--anybody can dance if they put their mind to it!”

Ryuji would _like_ to protest with the fact that he’s always had two left feet and that the broken leg thing left his already poor dancing skills with a lot to be desired. But once Ann’s got her mind set on something, it’s basically impossible to get her to back down. So he can really just splutter out vague protests as everyone else in the room (save Yusuke, bless that boyfriend of his) cheers him on.

Ryuji’s face steadily turns redder and redder as stumbles along after Ann, and the longer this lasts the more he feels like he’s making a fool of himself. Then again, the whole point of this shindig was to have a good time, so maybe he should lighten up a little. They’ve all seen each other at their worst, right? This is _nothing_ compared to any of that.

Still feels like he’s being made a laughingstock, no matter how much Ann is complimenting his steps. Especially since Futaba is cackling so hard that she’s started snorting.

It’s been a quiet afternoon so far, all things considered. Of course, it was always Makoto’s opinion that the first day Akira was back in Tokyo for summer vacation should be easy-going, and she’d won the rest of the group over with sheer force of will (and the promise of snacks and what felt like unlimited amounts of Leblanc’s curry). It’d turned into something of a homecoming party for Akira and Morgana pretty quickly--not like anyone complained about that. Any excuse for a party was a welcome one in Ryuji’s book. Of course, he’d rather he wasn’t being basically thrown around the room, but oh well.

When he gets a moment to look up from his feet, Ryuji shoots a very desperate _save me_ look towards where Yusuke is sitting and hopes that his boyfriend will shortly come to his rescue. It seems the first one doesn’t really work, so he sends another one, and when that doesn’t do the trick, he resorts to quietly hissing Yusuke’s name.

The artist does finally take pity on him, because the next thing Ryuji knows, Yusuke is tapping on Ann’s shoulder.

“May I cut in?” Yusuke asks, a small smile on his face.

Ann returns it with one of her own, spreading from one ear to the other. “Oh, sure! Should have guessed you’d want to dance with him.” She releases Ryuji, leaving him to tip forward. Yusuke catches him, glancing at Ann as she backs away and almost instantly rounds on the red head. “Come on, Futaba, your turn!”

“What?!” Futaba says, already scrambling further back onto Akira’s bed. “Nuh-uh, no way!”

Ryuji watches as Ann manages to get Akira himself to corner the younger girl, both cracking up when Akira catches her around the waist and twirls her gently.

Yusuke laughs quietly, shaking his head. He takes Ryuji’s hand in his own. “You were spinning quite a lot. Are you dizzy at all?”

Ryuji huffs, feeling the flush return to his face. With a grimace, he says, “No, but ’m pretty sure I looked pretty stupid trippin’ all over myself.”

“I found it rather charming, actually. I’m sorry I didn’t cut in sooner.” Yusuke says in his nonchalant way, swaying a little as a slower song begins to play.

Who can stay mad (even if it’s only mildly so) at the soft smile on Yusuke’s face? Cheater. Ryuji puffs out his cheeks a little, finally murmuring a quiet, “’s alright.”

Yusuke hums a short set of notes in harmony with the song playing, taking Ryuji’s other hand in his own. “Would you mind another dance? I promise not to move too quickly.”

And because Ryuji’s found that he can’t say no to Yusuke since they started dating for real, he shrugs. “Guess not. Sorry in advance if I step on you.”

“I suppose I will have to find it in me to forgive such a slight.” Ryuji freezes and glances up from his feet, but immediately relaxes. Damn, why does Yusuke have to have such dry delivery on his jokes?

Ryuji grimaces as the artist starts to gently lead him about the room, careful to avoid Futaba and Ann. “Ya gotta work on your delivery, man.”

“What makes you think I haven’t been?”

Ryuji gapes a little, but the quiet spluttering he gives in response falls on deaf ears. Yusuke continues to lead them in gently swaying steps around the room, and honestly to Ryuji it feels less like actually dancing and more like walking to a beat. It’s better than Ann’s constant bouncing and spinning, at least.

They dance long enough for the music to change, something a little more upbeat but nothing like the bopping music Ann had dragged Ryuji around to before. Yusuke smile widens as their steps keep time with the music’s rhythm, and slowly Ryuji finds that he’s looking less at his feet now, focusing instead on his dance partner.

Which he’s happy about--Yusuke almost never smiles this widely. It’s an arresting sight, leaving Ryuji staring with a goofy smile of his own on his face. Maybe he could get this dancing thing to happen a bit more often, in spite of how garbage he was at it.

 

 

[ “ _Ugh_ , get a room you two!” Futaba calls, making a face. Haru hides her giggles behind her hand, but her smile spreads across her face quickly.

Ryuji rounds on her instantly, picking up the nearest object and threatening to throw it at her. “SHUT UP, YOU GREMLIN!”

Yusuke just laughs, loud and clear. The others soon join him, watching as Ryuji and Futaba chase each other around the room.

But then, Sojiro comes up the stairs and yells at them to keep quiet during business hours. That ruins the mood of the party pretty quickly.

Oh, well. They still had the entirety of their summer break to be all together. ]

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr at x-eternalmagic or howdomaddie, and on twitter as @howdomaddie!


End file.
